Summerhayes Fishery (Sellicks & Willow Pool).

Travelling on my own today I met Gabo for a hilltops breakfast on route with 20 of us fishing their would be an overspill of 5 anglers on Willow Pool. It doesn't get used very often for matches but I fancied it to produce a few fish after Steve Kedge had 124lb off it in a resent rover match, Into the draw & I found myself on peg 9 Sellicks, That makes a change' I was on 10 last time & 9 before that" so used to the area but it was a lot colder then. I had 3 pints of casters to use up & around half a kilo of worm so after catching a few on this lake last time it would be my main line of attack fishing tight to the far bank mud at 13mts were I still had 3ft of water so set up a 0.3g float on 0.15-0.13 & an 18 PR36 hook, I also set up a 0.2g AS4 on the same line/hook to fish up in the water on the same line, I plumbed up two areas across but would only feed one to start with. Apart from that I all I had was a rig to fish down toward the pallet on my left in 3ft of water being a 4x10 Chanti again on the same line with a 18PR478 hook, And finally a 0.2g AS4 to fish on my top kit tight to the bank either side.

I started the match feeding half a pot of chopped worm/casters tight across & a small amount of hemp & meat down towards the pallet & started across on a decent size piece of worm, I lost a foul hooked fish nearly straight away but had a 2lb fish soon after, To keep the fish interested it seemed I had to keep topping it up to draw the fish in with a cad-pot each time but I was suffering foul hookers more than I was landing fish. local Craig next to me was also foul hooking a few tight over to a bay area he had next to him but was getting the odd fish in. Their seemed to be a few fish being caught early but after the first hour things began to slow up after a small run of fish I was struggling to get the rig through small rudd attacking the worm & I was having to wait ages for any indications, After the second hour I had only two more 2lb plus carp & a few silvers so re-fed it with a decent amount & decided to try down towards the pallet with a cube of meat, I had a 1lb fish followed by a 3lb fish but then couldn't get any indications so topped it up & went back across.

I managed a couple more but it just wasn't happening, I decided to add a few micro's to my worm & caster mix to try & avoid the rudd' but by the third hour things were sowing right up, I decided to get another rig out to fish in the deeper water away from the island as Craig next to me had taken a few fish on corn over micros also in the deep water so fed a small amount of the same & had another look down the edge, Another two fish again on meat before re-feeding again & trying the new line in the deeper water. Nothing.. We were only a few metres apart & he was getting plenty of indications & odd fish & I couldn't get a sniff' I decided to feed a new line tight over with a few micro & a pinch of corn to see if that would work but it didn't, I tried a meat line down the track & missed just one bite & the wheels really came off in the last couple of hours, I decided to put any fish in my second net & that was a total jinx as I only added two more carp & one of them wasn't even a 1lb". Craig had managed to keep catching the odd fish up until the whistle & Woody on peg 11 had managed a good late run of fish toward the point of the island in the last hour on paste after taking some better fish down the track in the first half of the match again on paste.

When the scales arrived Willow lake proved the place to be as Paul Homewood on end peg 9 finished up with 130lb odd catching a few fish across to start with before catching most of his fish at 5mts with meat or pellet on two lines, I ended the day with 38lb odd which was a bit disappointing after a good start & I fully expected it to get better as the day went on with the worm line but it died completely, I got battered either side with Craig taking 50lb odd & woody did well to finish with 69lb but Gabo came out on top on are lake from peg 12 catching the bulk of his fish tight to the far bank on expanders over micros finishing up with 83lb odd for second place overall, Top silvers came from willow lake peg 13 with Glynn Wickham taking10lb odd. At least the rain held off with only a brief shower, I did manage to get my £1 back off of Nick Harvey, he couldn't keep hold of it for 24hrs" but I made the wrong choices today bait wise I think but that's fishing". Off to Viaduct next Saturday for the Maver Match This Qualifier so hoping for a nice draw but I think Cambell lake will be the one most will want to end up.

Full Results -

1st Paul Homewood (Exeter) peg 9 Willow, 130lb 11oz.

2nd Gabriel Skarba (Oliver's Angling) peg 12, Sellicks, 83lb 8oz.

3rd Woody (Bristol) peg 11 Sellicks, 69lb 1oz.

4th Glenn Baily (Bristol) peg 1 Willow, 66lb 9oz.

5th Steve Kedge (Somerset Angling) peg 2 Sellicks, 56lb 3oz.

6th Steve Jackson (Garbolino) peg 18 Sellicks, 51lb 2oz.

Silvers - Glyn Wickham (Summerhayes) peg 13 Willow, 10lb 6oz.